A declaration · devotional in mood · a little context helps
“Sacred action matters because it points beyond itself to what is real.”
Om, Tat, and Sat are the three names by which the supreme reality is known. By that, the Vedas, the priests, and the sacrifices were established in the beginning.
The verse in reading order — each Sanskrit word with its meaning beneath. Tap a word to focus on it.
Read literallythat · being, real · thus · designation, name · of Brahman, the supreme reality · threefold · is remembered, is known · priests, sacred knowers · by that · the Vedas · and · sacrifices · and · were ordained, established · in the beginning, formerly
The sacred syllables Om, Tat, and Sat point to the supreme reality. They also mark the origin of the Vedas, priests, and sacrifices.
Krishna speaks this verse, on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, in the chapter titled "Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga" (The Three Kinds of Faith).
Verse 23 sits in Chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita — Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga, "The Three Kinds of Faith". The chapter has 28 verses in total.
At a griha pravesh, the priest begins with Om before anything else is said. Krishna traces that habit back: these three names point to the supreme reality, and the Vedas, the priests and the rituals were established from it.
Did you like this verse?
Om, Tat and Sat are three names for Brahman, and the Vedas, priests and sacrifices were set up through them.
What this verse means
The sacred syllables Om, Tat, and Sat point to the supreme reality. They also mark the origin of the Vedas, priests, and sacrifices.
Context & commentary
Krishna answers Arjuna, but the teaching has moved from kinds of faith to the frame behind all sacred action. He says that Om, Tat, and Sat are ancient names for the supreme reality, and that Vedic order, priests, and sacrifice arise from that source.
What it looks like today
At a griha pravesh, the priest begins with Om before anything else is said. Krishna traces that habit back: these three names point to the supreme reality, and the Vedas, the priests and the rituals were established from it.
“Sacred words are not decoration; they point the mind back to what is most real.”
Explore related themes: yajna (32 verses)